If there is a gun on the mantelpiece in the Act 1, then in Act 2, that gun must be fired.

Background

I'm a big believer in Chekhov's Gun. I try not to do anything or introduce any new plot point without first foreshadowing it, no matter how subtly.

This is easy in film. A lazy way to do it is to have some object appear in the background, or perhaps briefly show it on TV. A watcher who's paying attention gets the reference, a watcher who isn't, doesn't.

It's harder in writing. Every single thing that you mention, for at least a moment, is right in front of the reader's eyes. There's no such thing as background text here - everything is in the foreground.

Sometimes, I want to show the reader that there's a gun on the mantelpiece, without saying "Hello! This is a gun!" - because if I do that, the reader will think "hey, the writer wouldn't do that unless that gun is going to be fired." Sometimes I don't want the reader to know that there's going to be a gunshot in Act 2 - but I also don't want my character to pick up a gun that the reader didn't know was there.

Specifics

In my specific case, MC's house has a basement, and late in the story he gets locked within it by his housemate. The basement door is locked with a coded padlock to which only the housemate knows the code. MC is not, and has never been, allowed to go inside the basement.

I need to foreshadow the existence of the basement (and the padlock) before this scene.

However, before this point in the story, MC and the housemate do not actually meet beyond letters written to each other. I can't image the housemate would explicitly write "Remember, you're not allowed into the basement!", not least because that would be whacking the reader over the head with an obvious Gun. So MC should probably notice the basement of his own observation.

The story is written 1st-person, from MC's perspective, in a train-of-thought fashion - that is, everything he thinks is there on the page. So I can't have him suddenly jumping to think about some random basement door. And I'm trying really, really hard not to bash the reader over the head with obvious foreshadowing.

Question

What should I do here? How do I hide a Chekhov's Gun such that it's obscured under the bedsheet but, upon later reflection by the reader, was obviously a Gun?

There are certain things that are traditionally kept in basements: main breaker panels, furnace, hot water tank etc. Mention of one of those can imply the basement. If the lights flicker, the MC can write a note to the other asking about the fuse box and be told that he’ll take care of it later.

Depending on the age and style of the house in question, there could be a cellar hatch in the floor - usually the kitchen - something your MC would not only notice, but probably stand on while getting his cup of coffee.

In one house I used to own, there was a complicated system of rooms that had been dug out from beneath the house in three separate stages. One was a small cold storage room (ideal for trapping curious MCs in), there was a main furnace room with workbench, and oddly what looked like a rec room - also useful for storing curious characters. Two of these had doors and the level was only accessible through a cellar hatch in the back porch. Move a BBQ over that and anyone beneath is staying there.

Your MC could stub his toe on the hatch or just wonder if it were an old enough house to have once been heated with coal.

If the hot water runs out or the house starts to get cold, thoughts of what is normally stored in basements would be natural enough.

Personally, I would probably choose something like a cellar hatch that, to protect the edges of both the hatch and the floor, has a frame. Ours had a brass one around the linoleum. MC could have a geometric taste in decor and appreciate that detail of the house.

One house had a beautiful old cherry door - rather narrow - that was often mistaken for a cellar door but was for a closet. Such a door could attract the MC’s attention in his exploration, he thinks it is a closet but no - just basement access. Since he wants a place to hang his coat, he is disappointed to find it’s not a closet.

Chekhov's Gun takes many forms...

I use Chekhov's Gun CONSTANTLY in my writing too. It has sort of gotten to a point of being excessive, actually. That said, I've learned quite quickly that Chekhov's Gun doesn't need to be fired inherently.

Using the classic parable's example: the gun on the mantel can be "fired" in multiple ways.

1. It could be actually fired like the gun it is.


2. It could be an heirloom representing an older generation (akin to using ashes or a gravestone)


3. It could be a symbol for a brewing conflict.

If you want to make the Gun blend in, mention in the same paragraph between 2-4 other Chekhov's Guns. They don't need to be fired in the traditional sense, but just that each of them is a symbol for something, so when people read your story, they just see the intended gun as being "useless junk" unless they've caught on to your use of symbolism thus far in the novel.

Keep in mind that Chekhov's Gun is NOT an infallible law of writing. I am a firm believer in it, but it can be broken periodically specifically to subvert the reader's expectations. Feel free to do so by occasionally not mentioning the gun until it is needed (unless it would come across as an ass-pull), mention the gun (or other guns) and just don't use it (leading your audience to believe they can't be sure when an item will be important, throwing them off), or prepare the gun and attempt to use it only to have it not work and not matter (zigzagging expectations).

Chekhov's Gun is just a trope. Don't assume you have to always play it straight. Play with it a little to fit your desired situation. Sometimes, you need to play with other guns so people won't see when you're ready to fire this one.

As for your specific gun, though, you can solve this situation simply by having him pass by the door to the basement with an aged piece of paper still taped to the basement door saying "Do Not Enter!" or "Keep Out!" It really doesn't have to be anything major. It can be an organic moment like he sits down in the kitchen and that door is visible across the way. He can't help but to notice it, but by dismissing it immediately and not mentioning it at all for a while, the reader will forget it if you let them.

PSA: Don't play with guns, kids!